If your company is looking for a cloud-based phone system/call center, then Five9 and RingCentral are likely at the top of your list.
As two of the most popular VoIP service providers (Voice over Internet Protocol) on the market, both Five9 and RingCentral provide top-of-field features that can help you connect with employees and customers across a variety of channels.
How do you decide which of these business communication tools is right for you?
We are here to help. In this article, we will examine Five9 and RingCentral, compare their key features and pricing, and detail the other considerations that can help you make the right choice for your business.
What is Five9?
Five9 is a cloud-based, multichannel contact center software platform that enables businesses to engage with their customers through a variety of means, including phone calls, email, chat, SMS, and via social media platforms.
Five9 uses practical AI (artificial intelligence), advanced automation features, and the cloud to improve the efficiency and quality of customer communications.
What is RingCentral?
RingCentral is a cloud-based communication system that helps teams manage all of their business telephony needs right out-of-the-box.
Whether you are looking for an all-in-one, cloud-based phone system with team messaging and video conferencing, or you need a complete contact center with next-gen analytics and reporting capabilities, RingCentral can help.
As the #1 cloud communications provider worldwide, RingCentral allows people, teams, and businesses to connect anytime, from anywhere, on any device.
Five9 vs. RingCentral: Side-by-side
Five9 and RingCentral both offer a cloud-based VoIP service. Where they differ is focus.
Five9 is primarily focused on providing call center solutions, with features like automatic call distribution, interactive voice response, and real-time analytics.
RingCentral, on the other hand, offers a broader range of communication services, including phone, video conferencing, and team messaging.
At first glance, this might suggest deciding which one is right for you should be easy.
If you need a fully functional cloud-based call center with powerful automation features and AI support, go with Five9.
If you need communication tools that support your customers and your team while providing top-of-field video conferencing capabilities, go with RingCentral.
Of course, a business’s needs are never this cut and dry, and choosing the right solution for your business requires a more detailed look.
Five9 vs. RingCentral: Feature comparison
When it comes to feature selection, both of these communication platforms provide a broad offering, including:
- Call Logging, Recording, Monitoring, and Blocking
- Video conferencing that supports 100+ participants
- Integrations with leading tools such as CRM and ERP
- IVR / Voice Recognition
- Music on hold
- Shared lines
So they have a lot in common, but what features set Zoom Phone and RingCentral apart from the competition (including each other).
- Five9 offers some of the best call routing capabilities in the industry- Five9’s advanced call routing features allow for customer calls to be directed based on caller ID, time of day, the skills/specialty of the agent (language, expertise), geographic location, and more.
- RingCentral is a complete communication platform for your entire business- RingCentral offers a comprehensive suite of communication tools that include not only contact center capabilities but also features such as video conferencing, team messaging, predictive dialing, and online fax.
This allows businesses to manage all of their communication needs within one platform, making it a convenient and efficient solution.
Winner- When it comes to a direct feature comparison, we have to give this one to RingCentral.
RingCentral offers a broader selection of communication tools all around, and while they might not have all the advanced capabilities of some of the tools offered by Five9, they will be able to meet the needs of most businesses right out-of-the-box.
Five9 vs. RingCentral: Pricing
When evaluating the cost of any software tool, you have to look beyond the price tag. ROI comes down to getting the most out of the features available, so payment structures that are scaleable and flexible are a must.
- Five9- Five9 payment plans follow the standard tiered model so popular with B2B SaaS vendors, with higher tiers unlocking omni-channel support, advanced automation features, and analytics and reporting tools.
Starting at $149 for the Core tier, Five9’s payment plans are on the more expensive side for a VoIP provider. That said, they offer the most robust set of contact center tools available on the market, so you do get what you pay for.
- RingCentral- RingCentral’s payment plans follow the standard tiered, users/month model.
The most popular plan is the Essentials tier, and as the name suggests, you get the base level of tools that are essential to managing your telephone communications.
Of note here is that the Essentials tier supports up to 20 users, which is quite good for the entry-level tier of a software tool.
RingCentral claims that the Premium tier is the best value and looking at the features list, we would certainly agree.
The only caveat to add would be that this tier is also the minimum most businesses would require as it is the first plan to offer CRM (customer relationship management) and other industry-specific integrations (as well as custom integrations).
Winner- This round goes to RingCentral. Their Premium tier plan has the ability to address almost any business need, and it comes in at a fair price for the industry.
Five9 vs. RingCentral: Customer support comparison
Customer support is an often overlooked component when shopping for software tools. Yet, when issues arise, it quickly moves to the top of the priority list.
The challenge is that assessing the quality of a vendor’s customer support can be difficult before the purchase because you won’t get many opportunities to use it.
To get an idea of the level of customer service, you can expect, begin by looking at what support channels exist.
- Is it all over email or is there a phone/chat option?
- Are the options available 24/7 or are you restricted to business hours? If so, what time zone?
- Is the support provided by the vendor or a 3rd party support team?
After exploring the support options available, take a look at the knowledge base provided (if there is one).
- Is the information current? When was the last update?
- Is the information organized and easy to find?
- Is the information comprehensive?
- Is the information accurate?
You may not be able to evaluate all of these things before you buy so take the time read some customer satisfaction reviews. Just keep in mind that customers tend to leave reviews when they are either very happy or very upset and as such, the claims can be a little skewed toward the extremes.
Now, let’s see how Five9 and RingCentral compare when evaluating their customer support options.
- Five9- Five9 offers excellent customer support across a variety of channels, including:
- 24/7 phone support for every customer
- 24/7 online chat support for every customer
- Email support
Plus, Five9 has Premium support options available, such as a dedicated support engineer, a technical account manager, or a team of experts.
The Five9 knowledge base is well-supported and up-to-date. With articles and topics organized by product, category, and topic, finding answers is fast and easy.
- RingCentral- RingCentral has all of the support channels you would expect from a top software provider, including:
- Live chat support
- Phone support (up to 24/7, depending on your plan)
- Email support
- A community support network (great for getting tips from actual users)
- Social media channels
RingCentral’s knowledge base is comprehensive and up to date, if a little hard to navigate.
Winner- Five9 wins the battle of customer support options. The base level of service you get from Five9 exceeds that of almost any other company in the space, and their Premium options are a cut above as well.
Five9 vs. RingCentral: Which is right for you?
Both Five9 and RingCentral are excellent choices for a communication platform. So which is right for you?
- Five9 is right for- Five9 is particularly well suited for companies that want to implement a complete contact center.
- High volume communication management- Few VoIP solutions, if any, can equal the communication management capabilities that Five9 provides.
Five9s advanced routing features allow you to create a customized and efficient process for handling all your customer communications across a variety of channels.
- RingCentral is right for- RingCentral is an ideal solution for businesses looking for a VoIP provider with all the top features that is ready to go with little setup required.
The video conferencing features are the icing on the cake that allows you to use RingCentral as your standalone communication tool.
- Ease of Use- RingCentral is not only easy to set up, it is also easy to use. The user-interface is modern and intuitive, and the experience is consistent across the desktop platform and the mobile app.
- Expansive feature list- Few VoIP software vendors can match the feature list that RingCentral offers and it is growing all the time.
For additional resources that can help you find a VoIP provider that is right for you, check out our comparisons of:
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